-
You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
super penetrator 500 questions
- Thread starter longhaireddwb
- Start date
I just went to the SPT -500 about 2 months ago. Great antenna but it does have a few quirks:
The clamps that come with it are insufficient. Once you get it tuned- and you will have to slide one section down considerably for it to tune on 11m- mark the position with a marker and install stainless steel screws to supplement the clamps.
Where I live it is usually windy. Since installing the SPT-500 I have noticed that when the wind picks up the antenna starts to 'hum' a bit- that is, the wind blowing through it causes an audible resonance! Since it's on a tripod on the roof on a very windy day it makes the whole house vibrate a little!
In it's stock form it's rated for 1500w but there is a quick and easy mod that ups that level to 5k or better- if that's your thing.
Performance wise I like it. I'm hearing a lot more and on-air reports indicate that I've jumped almost 2 S units from the previous antenna (an Imax 2000)
FWIW the transmission line was also replaced with LMR-400.
Supposedly this antenna is illegal on 11m but I'm not sure why.
Assembled per the instructions (2-3" overlap on the vertical radiator) it would make a great antenna for 12m. With a tuner it would probably go to 15m. I run mine primarily on 11m but it works just fine on 10m with or without a tuner.
The 'top hat' screw into the top section of the antenna. It is not necessary for them to line up perfectly with the counterpoise (radials), but it does look nicer!
Lastly: This is a large antenna. On the roof it makes a statement. Take all steps to properly mount, guy and ground it.
Good luck!
The clamps that come with it are insufficient. Once you get it tuned- and you will have to slide one section down considerably for it to tune on 11m- mark the position with a marker and install stainless steel screws to supplement the clamps.
Where I live it is usually windy. Since installing the SPT-500 I have noticed that when the wind picks up the antenna starts to 'hum' a bit- that is, the wind blowing through it causes an audible resonance! Since it's on a tripod on the roof on a very windy day it makes the whole house vibrate a little!
In it's stock form it's rated for 1500w but there is a quick and easy mod that ups that level to 5k or better- if that's your thing.
Performance wise I like it. I'm hearing a lot more and on-air reports indicate that I've jumped almost 2 S units from the previous antenna (an Imax 2000)
FWIW the transmission line was also replaced with LMR-400.
Supposedly this antenna is illegal on 11m but I'm not sure why.
Assembled per the instructions (2-3" overlap on the vertical radiator) it would make a great antenna for 12m. With a tuner it would probably go to 15m. I run mine primarily on 11m but it works just fine on 10m with or without a tuner.
The 'top hat' screw into the top section of the antenna. It is not necessary for them to line up perfectly with the counterpoise (radials), but it does look nicer!
Lastly: This is a large antenna. On the roof it makes a statement. Take all steps to properly mount, guy and ground it.
Good luck!
Atlasta;
"Performance wise I like it. I'm hearing a lot more and on-air reports indicate that I've jumped almost 2 S units from the previous antenna (an Imax 2000)
FWIW the transmission line was also replaced with LMR-400.
Supposedly this antenna is illegal on 11m but I'm not sure why."
Atlasta, I bet the LMR400 is the reason for 1 of those S units.
I believe it's only illegal to sell in the USA for 27mhz CB use unless it can insulate against 15kv. I doubt you'll be imprisoned for using one
"Performance wise I like it. I'm hearing a lot more and on-air reports indicate that I've jumped almost 2 S units from the previous antenna (an Imax 2000)
FWIW the transmission line was also replaced with LMR-400.
Supposedly this antenna is illegal on 11m but I'm not sure why."
Atlasta, I bet the LMR400 is the reason for 1 of those S units.
I believe it's only illegal to sell in the USA for 27mhz CB use unless it can insulate against 15kv. I doubt you'll be imprisoned for using one
If changing his coax was responsible for 1 s-unit or 6db he would have had to have a long run of crappy coax before.
Yup. Cheap coax is the trap for new players. You know what I'm talking about. They find out is is junk in a couple of years when the UV radiation breaks down the outer sheath and gets water intrusion; thereby ruining it with internal corrosion. As you mentioned, the cheap stuff just has too much loss compared to the better stuff as well. As we know, it is better to buy the good stuff and let it ride for 10-15-20 years and pay what it is worth at the git go . . .
Naw, 6dB barely holds true for some Collins boat anchors.
More like 3dB which is believable considering age, inherent loss, connector corrosion, etc.
Robb you're right, but guys don't forget that water can get into your feed line from the inside as well as from the outside. The feed point itself needs to be protected from water.
I love my Starduster antenna, but its feed point is directly below the bottom of the radiator and any water that get past the radiator connection to the hub, inside and out, can enter right into the coax. These SO/PL connectors are no way water proof and some cheap ones are worse.
The A99/Imax, and several other antennas including antennas with pig tail type connections can allow water to get directly into the feed line.
Sorry to be late in response NB. I have an I-10K, Wolf .64, and a couple of CLR2's over the years and they are metal 5/8 waves, but at various heights.
Well the I-10k certainly qualifies.
Were you able to notice the difference in performance between it and the Wolf .64?
I added an S-unit to my signal using the I-1OK at about 90 miles by losing the top hat & extending it to a full .64, then retuning the match to X=0
Were you able to notice the difference in performance between it and the Wolf .64?
I added an S-unit to my signal using the I-1OK at about 90 miles by losing the top hat & extending it to a full .64, then retuning the match to X=0
I'm not sure I've ever compared my I-10K side by side with my Wolf .64. but according to some separate free standing signal reports I have on file...these two were pretty close. The Wolf showing a slight advantage, but I'm not sure about how the heights compared at the time of testing these free standing antennas.
On the other hand my Eznec models show the I-10K with a nice gain advantage. This said the Wolf is a more complicated model with the coils on the radiator...plus I've not worked on it since early in 2013, and back then this Wolf model was my first attempt at this antenna. I was disappointed at the results and never worked on it again.
Radials to tip, not including the top hat.
Wolf - 267.5" has two inductive coils on the radiator.
I-10K - 255.83"
Measured from top of insulator at base of mount to tip, not including the top hat.
CLR2 - 238" per specs in the manual.
What's the top hat on the I-10K, 12"L x 1"w? It's been years. Where does the I-10K zero up, about ch 22?
Top hat = 10" x .25" flat aluminum.
Attached is my best antenna tuning results for my I-10K. I hope you can read it all after all these years. I tuned this directly at the feed point. I used the working feed line and every thing inline on my system for the SWR results in the shack. You can use zoom on the PDF file if you want to see better.
If instead of the real antenna results I got on my I-10K, you wanted Eznec results...I do have a model with a physical trombone model attached showing a near resonance at 27.205 mhz where I designed the model. However, the ZERO reactance is somewhere a little below 26.965 mhz. I have not worked on this model in a while either and I never fixed the mismatch. That said, my model with the trombone attached shows 1.40:1 SWR at the feed point, and that's not bad for a 5/8 wave.
Click on Antenna Work Sheet below.
Hey Marconi, do you have any sheets like the one above linked that are blank. Or could you make a blank one that can be filled in by hand? Is love to have something like that if possible?? If it's something you have spent lots of time on and don't want to let out, I totally understand as well sir. Anyways. Always enjoy your posts!! Have a good one.